The dogs sleep right there on the ground in the orchard with the sheep. by Chad
All the sounds of coyotes lately make me so glad we have livestock guardian dogs. The coyotes have been loud and numerous – like really, it sounds neat and intimidating. And the dogs sleep right there on the ground in the orchard with the sheep.
It’s hard to describe the nightly scene. Depending on where Angel and Jasper are, is where the sheep are. And we still have some fantastic forage available to them in the orchard.
One night recently we were all outside staring at the stars and you could hear Jasper’s low but strong bark, quickly followed by what sounded like 12 coyotes right next to the mobile pen they stay in with the sheep. It was enough of a coyote tussle I texted the neighbors asking if they could hear all the coyotes.
Moving to The Farm in the summer of 2019 – we heard stories of predators like coyotes (of course they make themselves well known at night), cougars, bears and more recently wolves. A couple things came to mind for Jeana and I – how can we have someone to look out for the boys and protect our animals?
It so happened some local friends of ours were getting an LGD and there were litter mates available – enter Angel. She’s about 70% Anatolian Shepherd and 30% Great Pyrenees. But one night when she was about 1 year old, she tangled with some coyotes – they were no match.
Angel “patrols” The Farm establishing a perimeter. Almost like she’s saying – “Hey, predators, I know you’re out there because I can smell so well, but this is MY boundary, this is my flock, don’t come in here.” Yes, these dogs can bark – something to be mindful of. And they like to be out at night.
Late in May of 2025, a cougar came in the night and killed one of our momma ewes. It was in the mobile pen they were grazing in. Quite a scene. Angel our livestock guardian tried, and we think kept things from being worse.
We never caught the cougar – but we did get another livestock guardian to help Angel. His name is Jasper – a Karakachan.
The Karakachan goes back over 4,000 years in Bulgaria and was almost wiped out during WWII. Fortunately, the Karakachan was saved and then introduced to the U.S. in the late 1990’s. They like to stay with the herd. The Karakachan almost says “Hey, I’m so strong and so brave, mr or mrs predator – just try me, I’ll show you whose boss.”
They’re so gentle and can go from a nap to chasing a coyote faster than a Tesla. We’re so glad they’re here. On your next visit – feel free to say hello to Angel and Jasper.
The neighbors I texted that night stepped outside and thought, wow, they are really active tonight. I thought to myself, man, I hope they like the sheep being in the orchard, because they certainly could be why the coyotes show up… or, maybe it’s just the chickens?
